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Preseason Honors Piling Up for Men's Soccer Players
Portions courtesy of Columbia Sports Information/Media Relations and Penn and Princeton Athletic Communications
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Coming off a 2010 season in
which four Ivy League teams appeared in the NCAA Championship -
including Dartmouth and Brown advancing to the final 16 - for the
second consecutive season, it is no surprise the Ivy League
men’s soccer teams and players are collecting preseason
accolades. Leading the way, 2010 Ivy League Player of the Year and
Princeton Tiger Antoine Hoppenot as well as first
team All-Ivy defender and Penn Quaker Thomas
Brandt have been named to the 2011 Missouri Athletic
Club’s Hermann Trophy Watch List. Also of note, Brandt and
Columbia’s Mike Mazzullo were named two of
the 30 candidates for the 2011 Men’s Soccer Lowe’s
Senior CLASS Award.
Complete
MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List
Hoppenot was a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy last season
after he totaled eight goals and five assists for 21 points in the
regular season. With 21 points, Hoppenot led all Ivy players in
overall regular season scoring, tied for the lead with eight goals
and was third with five assists. In seven Ivy League contests, he
notched two goals and three assists for seven points. Last season
he was tabbed an All-America by two organizations. Hoppenot has
been the team’s leading scorer the past two seasons and has
helped the Tigers to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and
the 2010 Ivy League title. He currently has 53 points on 22 goals
and nine assists, ranking him 13th all time at Princeton in points
and 11th in goals.
In addition to first team All-Ivy honors, Brandt was also a 2011
first-team NSCAA All-Region honoree after scoring five goals while
playing a key role in Penn’s stingy defense. Brandt has
appeared in 39 career games over his three seasons, making 35
starts. In 2009, Brandt played in all 17 matches with 16 starts.
Last season, he started all 19 matches and tied for second on the
team with his five goals, including two game-winning goals
highlighted by an overtime strike versus George Mason.
The MAC Hermann Trophy is the highest individual award in
intercollegiate soccer. The recipients are selected by head coaches
of NCAA Division I programs who are members of the National Soccer
Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Voting for the MAC Hermann
Trophy is conducted in late November, when a field of 15
semifinalists is reduced to three finalists. Those three will be
invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis on Friday, Jan.
6, 2012, where a news conference will be held to announce the
winner, followed by a banquet to honor the three finalists.
Complete
Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Candidates List
Columbia senior midfielder Mike Mazzullo joins Brandt on the list
of 30 candidates for the 2011 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.
Mazzullo, who became the first three-time captain in Columbia
men’s soccer history this spring, earned All-Ivy League
honorable mention honors last season after helping the Lions to a
tremendous finish down the stretch of the conference season. The
defensive midfielder topped the team in minutes played with 1,578,
and also scored a game-winning goal against Seton Hall that sparked
a three-match winning streak to close out the month of
September.
A model student, Mazzullo is a history major at Columbia College
and maintains a 3.45 GPA. He was named to the Fall Academic All-Ivy
League team in 2010.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in
School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total
student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in
athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their
communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway
through the regular season and those 10 names will be placed on the
official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide
voting system to media, coaches and fans who will select one
candidate who best exemplifys excellence in the four Cs of
community, classroom, character and competition.
Additional Men’s Soccer Preseason
Honors
College Soccer News 2011
Preseason All-America Teams
Antoine Hoppenot, Senior, Forward (Princeton) -- First Team
Thomas Brandt, Senior, Defender (Penn) -- Second Team
Joe’s Big Board (TopDrawerSoccer.com top-100
senior pro prospects as ranked by Joe Mauceri)
6. Antoine Hoppenot (Princeton)
23. Jake Levin (Penn)
40. Lucky Mksosana (Dartmouth)
48. Christian Barreiro (Penn)
79. Sean Rosa (Brown)
100. Thomas Brandt (Penn)
NSCAA
Preseason National Rankings
11. Brown
20. Dartmouth
RV. Princeton
